This game was played between Haim and in my conservatory on 29/3/18. Most of
the kit belongs to Hail a do the majority of the buildings. The rest of the
terrain is mine. Haim played the Allies and I played the Islamic Army. This game
was played with V1.0 of the scenario.

Picture of the battlefield at the start of the game. Baku is
on the right, the Russians are in the foreground on the left defending the
ridgeline. On the road between the city and the hill are some Baku Militia in
reserve

The Russian defenders close-up. As no Russians had been
painted as yet we used proxies. In this case WW2 Nationalist Chinese

The aerodrome north east of Baku. The Aircraft is supposed to
be a Martinsyde Elephant. Here it is being proxied by an SE-5a

The defenders of the eastern flank. Baku Militia and an
armoured car. The car represents a mix of British and Russian vehicles

The 8th Baku Militia defends the road from Balakhami to
Balajari where it enters the salt marsh. Yet more proxies as militia had yet
been painted up.

The 9th Royal Warwicks on the flank of the Russian position.
Haim had correctly deduced that this was not the critical area of the
battlefield. The Warwicks started in column so they could be rapidly re-deployed
to Baku

The Turkish 13th Infantry Regiment starts the game at Wolf's
Gap, opposed by the 7th North Staffs and a couple of militia battalions

The 5th Division starts its assault up the ridge to Baku. The
Army commander seems to have brought the wrong map!

The Tartar and Lezgin cavalry enter the fray and head
west. My plan was to swiftly overwhelm the Baku militia defending the road over
the marsh and to unhinge the Russian's defensive position on the other side of
the battle before the passive enemy militia units could catch the cavalry. It
was a risky plan though...

The Warwicks and the 21st Baku Militia reach Baku. All the
Baku militia disintegrate if the Turks can take Baku and the 5th Turkish
Division starts very close to the city, with one very poor militia division in
front it.

The Tartar and Lezgin cavalry failed to make a combined
assault on the militia defending the road over the salt marsh so they were
repulsed. At which point the enemy units on the Eastern flank had caught up. The
Islamic Cavalry turned and attacked the threat to their rear. The Baku Militia
Cavalry were easily defeated but the 12th Baku Militia held their ground and
repulsed the Tartars.

The Turkish 15th Division enters the battle and advances
towards the Russians. My initial plan was only to apply enough pressure to keep
the Russians in place and to prevent them retiring to defend Baku.

The 22nd Baku Militia counterattacks to throw the Turkish 13th
Regiment off the hill. This was a brave move which ended in the militia being
firmly repulsed

Turkish fire starts to have effect on the Baku militia of the
Russians' western flank. The big crater indicates spent status. However, the
106th Regiment are have also taken casualties and are spent. Fortunately for the
Turks the 4th Infantry are in a position to pass through the 106th and continue
the attack. The vulnerability of the Baku militia was encouraging me to convert
a holding mission into a determined assault.

The Turkish 9th Infantry Regiment finally decides to climb the
cliff and participate in the attack after dawdling at the foot of the precipice
for three hours. The 13th Regiment is getting dangerously close to Baku, but the Warwicks arrive just in time to attack up the steep hill. The counterattack
fails but it's enough to stymie the Turkish advance.

The Turks reach Baku. Per the scenario rules all the Baku
militia are removed from the battle. Not that this made too much difference. The
Turks had been persecuting the weak Militia units and there were very few Baku
troops remaining. This put the game in the position of a draw at this moment. To
win the Turks had to either sink a ship in the harbour or clear the ridge.

The British try again to remove the Turks from the ridge. The
flank charge is spectacularly effective reducing the 13th Infantry to a mere
shadow of its former self. On the Turkish right the North Staffs continue to
hold tenaciously to their trench line. The 56th Infantry Regiment is queued up
behind the halted 10th. They 56th fills both the roads up the cliffs denying the
Turkish artillery a route to the top. This was a major tactical issue for the
Turks as the guns are needed up on the ridge to bombard the Allied shipping.
What's more game time was running out and darkness was rapidly approaching.

Eventually Turkish fire and an assault by the Azerbaijanis
cleared the Baku militia on the Russians' flank. Worried by this move the
Russians moved across in front of the Turks to occupy the formed Baku Militia's
positions. This allowed enfilade fire by the Turks and the Russians took
grievous casualties and were initially stopped from entering the trenches.
However, the 4th Infantry were remarkably reluctant to clamber up the slope and
exploit the opportunity, allowing the Russians to eventually reach the security
of the trenches. The Azerbaijanis eventually scaled the cliffs but not in time
to catch the Russians in the open.

The Worcesters' counter-attack and completely wiped out the
38th Infantry. However after the assault is completed they suffer grievously
from the Turkish artillery and become spent. This severely restricts their
utility for the rest of the battle

After what must have been the longest tea-break in history the
RAF finally clamber into their machines and participate in the battle, helping
to repulse yet another effort to dislodge the North Stafford's from their trench
line. After drinking all that tea they obviously needed the longest piss in
history and were not to be seen in the sky again.

Its getting dark. The Turks have missed their opportunity to
get their artillery on to the hill to shell the Allied shipping. To get a
victory the Turks must now push the Allies off the ridge. Conversely for the
Allies to win they need too push the Turks out of Baku. Given the correlation of
forces near the city that is looking like a considerable challenge.

The 4th Infantry finally get off their fat arses and clamber
up the ridge to assault to Russian position with The Azerbaijani Militia.
However, the Russian position is too strong and both units are repulsed. This
was the final act in the battle as there was insufficient time left for another
attack.

This was a very hard fought battle. The possession of the
plateau in front of Baku see-sawed for the entire duration and a couple of dice
rolls either way could have seen a different result. The Turks had a couple of
units that were notable for their reluctance to climb up the cliff and the RAF
were particularly reluctant to come out and play on the Allied side. The Turks
made, what in hindsight was a major tactical blunder, by blocking the defiles up
onto the ridge preventing their artillery ascending. When I placed the 56th
Regiment in that position I didn't anticipate the North Staffs holding out in
their trench line for the entire day. The result was a draw which I think fairly
reflects both side's performance.

I have made one or two minor tweaks to the scenario since
playing and we are aiming to re-fight the battle on the "BBB Bash" day in May.